Nothing like a nice Danny Phantom crossover to feed your soul, huh? I understand that came out wrong, but what am I going to do? I really need to thank you guys for helping me keep this alive! I'm Shining Zephyr's muse. Call me Zephyr. Real original, I know, but that's another on of life's mysteries.

Thanks for reviewing, Hordak's Pupil, Plushiemon, mystery writer5775, princess moon shadow, fairyprincesst, Miriam, Miriam1, Little Horatio, pearl84, yumi2482, CSIBeauty

8. Dangerous Men

Danny rubbed his head in the café as he ate his sandwich little by little. Natalia had offered to take him to lunch, and Danny accepted. Besides, Horatio's aura seemed to be a little... intimidating? There was something about the leader of the lab that kind of worried Danny. He seemed... he couldn't really come up with a word for it as he glanced out the window. Natalia smiled slightly. "You miss them."

Jerked out of his gaze, he glanced back at the female CSI: and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Your friends," Natalia explained. "Sam and Tucker, I think?"

Danny nodded, taking another bite. He felt obligated to eat in front of the woman, whose sad eyes seemed to drill a hole in the boy.

"Who was that guy that kidnapped them and Ryan?"

Danny's head rested on the palm of his hand, sighing. "He's been following me around for a long time. I'd say maybe two years." His brow furrowed. "Yeah, two years now. Since I was fourteen, the guy has been obsessed with me and my family. I'll just say he's probably worse than some of the guys you've had to capture and put in jail."

Natalia smiled. "Maybe. But we're going to find them with you. He's taken a dear friend of mine as well. Ryan Wolfe is one of my best friends in the lab now. I'm worried about him, actually."

"You never worried about him in the past?"

She shrugged. "Not really. He's was... he was kind of a bitch to me in my early days, for lack of a better word. I had some slight problems going on in the lab involving a person from my past, and it kind of screwed me up for later references. But we're good friends now after what happened to him last year."

The teen raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

"He was fired from his job because of some gambling issues." She took a bite of her sandwich. "But I helped him do some paperwork so he would be rehired. He was... after around five months of being processed and examined by an old foe of H's."

"An old foe?" Danny inquired.

Natalia gave the boy a dry smile. "That man you might've seen around the hallway- he's got brown hair, forest green eyes, walks around with his hands jammed into his pockets. That's Horatio's long time nemesis, Rick Stetler, Internal Affairs agent. Biggest pain in the ass I've ever met in my life."

Danny sat at the table, contemplating what she had just said. It was that same male who had confronted Horatio about a case involving a boy. He didn't see how they could've been mortal enemies like himself and Vlad, but he could tell that there was some serious tension arising between the two. Maybe they could all go have a therapy session or something, given that they had similar problems with one another.

He sat in the office, shaking his head and taking out his cell phone. Dialing in a number, he wanted for a few moments until a smooth voice answered,"Plasmius."

"Do you realize you're the talk of the lab?!" Rick Stetler hissed, annoyance and fear clearly evident in his voice. "Why can't you be more subtle? Christ, you didn't have to make a big show when you kidnapped Wolfe!"

The half ghost sounded amused. "I didn't make a big show, Rick. That was Danny Phantom who decided to fight me and delay my efforts in blackmailing Horatio and Daniel. Be glad I did make that show."

Stetler ran his fingers through his hair. This wasn't working out for him. He cut this deal with Vlad Plasmius for one reason- to get back at Horatio in a way beyond his wildest dreams. Well, it certainly was a way to get back at the lieutenant, but he never thought it involved taking a CSI: hostage. "What do you plan on doing with him?"

"Nothing much, really. I took young Daniel's friends as bait for the boy and his friend."

Stetler didn't mistake the malice in the half ghost's tone. "What did you do with him?"

Plasmius sounded irritatingly tired on the other end of the line. "How typical. You're turning into Horatio. All right, if you must know, I plan on taking Ryan and using him to become a half ghost like me. And if you're lucky, I won't kill him."

'If you're lucky?' Stetler sagged in his chair, recognizing the fact that he was probably growing more gray hair with this lone conversation than anything he had done with Horatio. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The male laughed cruelly over the other end of the phone. "Come on, Stetler. Don't tell me you're growing a backbone to all of this."

"Possibly."

Plasmius sighed. "Right then. I need you to go and tell Horatio about the little plan that could happen if everything goes according to plan, and he and Daniel might see their friends again."

CLICK.

Stetler stared at the phone. Not even so much as a good-bye. He got up from his desk and wiped his brow, sighing and making his way to the parking lot. This had to be one of the scariest things he had yet to do that involved Horatio and, possibly, his wrath.

The Columbian could see the anger in his eyes when the doors of the elevator opened and in walked her former boyfriend. It had been around a few minutes since Danny had come back to the lab with Natalia, and he wanted to see what all the tension was about. He glanced at the elevator as well, watching the Internal Affairs Sergeant walk into the Crime Lab, a harried look on his face. "Who's he?"

He held out his hand moments later. "Rick Stetler, Internal Affairs. You must be Danny Fenton."

Danny shook it uneasily. Something seemed wrong with this situation.

The Columbian woman put her hand on his shoulder. Her voice sounded soft, worried. "I think it would be a good time for us to leave."

He nodded fervently, and the duo walked off, leaving an anger-ridden Horatio with a nervous looking Stetler. "I'm not here to be an ass to you, Horatio."

"Then hurry it up, Stetler. I've got a case to work on."

Stetler winced at the sharp edge in Horatio's voice. "Someone wants to see you in the Crime Lab tomorrow. He won't give me his name, but he says it's urgent."

Horatio nodded. "Plasmius."

The agent tried to hide the look of surprise on his face. "You know him?"

The lieutenant snorted. "We go back a little ways. Farther than you and me."

"Farther than us?" He chuckled. "That's a ways."

Horatio tensed up. "I know who he is, Rick. So don't make it a big secret. All I had to do was cross reference the ectoplasm found at the scene, match that with international databases, and find a match. Your so-called employer, Vlad Plasmius, is, in fact, Vlad Masters."

Stetler practically choked up at this. "How do you know about...?"

"I'm a CSI, Rick," he told him flatly, fingering his sunglasses. "That's my job."

Ha-ha! Horatio knows about Vlad Plasmius and Vlad Masters! There's that secret out of the bag. Despite the fact that Danny and Stetler's meeting was kind of short, you'll get to meet a new person next chapter and learn more about the bitterness between Stetler and H. Thanks for reading! Reviews are enjoyed!